Machines
by Cheatengine343
Summary: Years after the war Chief finally settles down, but a problem occurs... He's bored. So he gets a job. Rated for language.
1. Getting a job

**Author's note: Edited layout and some other errors, including a few line changes, more chapters coming in the next few weeks! Currently dated for 3/10/17, so be a little patient.**

Shit, a security job never hurt any body. Sure, it was way lower pay than minimum wage and I should probably call is someone up about it, but I mean come on, I need something to do, I'm bored just sitting around. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, sounds familiar. I think there was a news story about it starting up again a few weeks back. I picked up the phone to call and a man picks up,"You want the job?" He said, old age and boredom flowing through the phone into my ear."Don't you do pardies? Shouldn't you start with that or like a shity company greeting?" I answer. "Good, come in tonight at 11, I will ask a few questions, then you can start." He hung up before I could ask any questions. What the hell?

I get there and see the lock is busted, and just walk in. 'No wonder they need a security guard' amazed at how little work they put in this place. A fat man with white hair and a scruffy white goatee comes up with a clipboard in hand and he hands me the clipboard and says "fill it and leave it in the security room. One word of advice, don't leave that room between midnight and six. Room is down that hallway, to the right." "Wait I...….." He then left before I got to ask any questions. Best not bother him for now.

I walked over to the stage and looked up at the animatronics. Man, these things are ancient! I had read up on this place after I called earlier, nothing much really, except that even though the building has changed a lot, only a few animatronics were ever made, just given different costumes and that the the animatronics were lost for awhile and not found for years after they closed in the 2000s, the only animatronic found in the restaurant was the original Bonnie, and they put him in a storage container, and then sold in a storage auction, where it was then lost. They had found Chica in a Chuck E cheese, some guy trying to make her another animatronic for the restaurant, found the original Freddy, the lost Bonnie, and a spare exoskeleton one day in a old warehouse in middle of Argentina, and Foxy when an inventor was said to have created a new, mechanical soldier, and they found out it said 'fazbear entertainment' on its ass. They eventually were given to the proper owner, a long off uncle to the original fazbear family, and he reopened the restaurant about 50 years ago, then the war hit and was forced to shut down. They then found the newer models about 5 years ago, at a dump. And those are what we see today. How their still in one piece is anyone's guess. Supposedly original AI and everything. They all seemed to be in 'ok' condition for being so old, having only several dents and chips. All of them seemed to be made of porcelain. Bonnie on the left, Freddy in the middle and Chica on the right. _(They are the toy animatronics from the second game)_

While I was looking at the animatronics, a clanging sound was made inside the door to the left. I look at the door and listen for another noise, none came. I walked slowly towards the door, listening for anything else. I got to the door and slowly opened it to see a room with three rows of shelves from the floor to the ceiling all around the room, filled with the spare heads of the animatronics. There was a table in the middle of the room with four animatronics sitting back to back on it. Blaming the noise on the rats I saw running away, I calm and look around. Three of the animatronics had their costume on, well most of it anyway. These suits had fallen into disrepair, probably the original cloth suits. Once again, ok condition for being so old. What was this stuff made of? Maybe the suits aren't original, the age supporting more a few decades then centuries. Can't believe everything from the internet. Bonnie was one facing me. Besides a few rips that were poorly stitched together and the moldy smell, the only thing that made him stand out was that from his upper jaw to the top of his head was gone. He was also missing parts of your costume missing from his right hand and left arm was just a few wires. Freddy was also facing towards me, but all that was wrong with him was a few rips that were poorly stitched up and the moldy smell. I went around the table to get a better look at the ones facing away. Chica sat there next to a animatronic without its costume. Chica also had a few rips poorly stitched back, was missing both arms, and also had a big hole in its beak towards the upper right. Other than that it was all right. There was two more doors in the room, one to the left that said "Arcade" and one on the other side of the room from where I came in that said "Storage". I went to the storage room first, and inside was a couple old arcade games, spares I guess, tables, folding chairs, and the one and only pirates cove. I read a little on it to, but why did they keep it? From what I read, it was decommissioned permanently, something about Foxy saying some not so kid friendly things. There is a double door to the arcade in the storage room, so I go through it to see the arcade. It's about a 30 by 30 room with games lining the walls and a 10 by 10 stage in the center with curtains all around it with a 'Out Of Order' on all sides. I went up to it to see what was behind the curtains. There was, I don't know whether or not it was a animatronic or a pile of parts. The pieces of parts that appeared to be parts of the costume were everywhere, the only parts that were on it was a head and a hand, but the head was not on the right place for a exoskeleton head was right next to it. The head itself was white with pink accents and red lipstick on the end of what appeared to be a snout. It was also missing an eye. I went ahead and closed the curtain, then left through the main entrance of the arcade. The other door to the parts and maintenance room was on the entrance to the arcade. I went in the first hallway to the right, and at the end was the security room. Two electromagnetic reinforced metal doors on each side, and towards the seat on each wall on each side was two buttons that said 'door' and 'light'. They can afford military grade reinforced doors, but can't afford a door lock? Why even have the doors in the security room? And why two? Would have been cheaper and safer if there was only one. I sat down and noticed a pen on the table, so I grab it and started to sign the paperwork.

By the time I was finished, it was 11:59. There were a few interesting things in there I was signing, many things about how Fazbear Entertainment was not responsible for basically anything that happens inside or outside the property. I put the paperwork down. At that moment, a phone rings. The really old phone was next to the clock, and the clock said 12:00. I picked up the phone. "He-hello?" the man on the other side said,"I was told to make a message for you, to get you through the week. I actually worked in that office before you, I'm finishing my first week now as a matter of fact. Now I know this can be overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you, there's nothing to worry about, you'll do fine. Now back to business. First order of business, the tablet. It is in the top right drawer." I grab the tablet then turned it on and scrolled through the cameras. "Next, power. On that clock by you there is a battery bar, and a percent. The battery represents power being used, and the percent is the power left. Don't ask why in this day in age this is a thing, I'll get to it in a sec. Next, I need to tell you what will happen in the next six hours." What is there to know? "As you may know, the animatronics are the first and only of the animatronics ever made, and possibly the most sophisticated animatronics ever made. Lots of people want to know the secret, hell, the owners hardly know themselves. Your job here, is to make sure no one is hurt trying to find it out." Again, what the hell is he talking about? "See, um, these animatronics, have a glitch in their system. Even the v2s, the newer ones, somehow have the glitch, and they have the facial recognition software. See, at night, they will not see you as a person, but rather a metal exoskeleton. Now this is where the danger to you is. Um, they kind of wander a bit at night, specifically toward the office. And if they see you, they tend to want to, um, 'help' you into a costume. Now that wouldn't be so bad, if the suits weren't filled with wires and cross beams. You can see how that could cause some discomfort... And death. The only part of you that would see the light of day again would be your eyes and teeth, they would pop out the front of the mask. Yeah, they don't tell you this shit when you sign up. Just remember, these animatronics hold a spe... You know, fuck it, no one gives a shit about these things, so if need be, rip their fucking heads off." The call ended. Wait, why do I have limited power?.

**Author's note: Changes will also be made to chapter two, so look for that as well. Remember, 3/10/17. **


	2. Night 1

**Author's note: I think I lowered the word count significantly by removing the long author's notes. Either way, same as before, fixes to format, spelling, and some edits to lines. May have changed more than before, some of which would be important. Next chapter set for 3/10/17.**

*click* the message ended. Is that what the guy up front was meaning by staying in here? Would make sense these are extremely old AIs, glitches are bound to happen. Also explains the doors. Or I could think logically and realize it's a huge hoax. I'm on some kind of hidden camera TV show, and the cameras are set to change and make me think the animatronics are moving closer to me and eventually disappear from all the cameras. They may not realize who I am, so I will play along. For now.

I start going through the cameras. I take a peek at the clock. 4:26. 43%. No moving animatronics. That's bull shit, I was at least hopeing it would start sooner. I want some excitement.

4:43. 37%. I'm looking through and notice something missing from the backstage area. A large, broken bunny. I then switch cameras and found him in the arcade. He appeared unbalanced, with one side almost an inch lower due to the missing costume pieces. He was staring at me with pinprick glowing red eyes, standing so still it almost looked like a picture. No, it was a picture. Let's throw a wrench in their plan. I swiftly walked out the right doorway and straight towards the arcade.

I walked around the arcade, and no killer bunny. Interestingly, there was a scratch on the ground, right where it was in the camera. It might have been there before, but I'm not sure. I walk out of the arcade, and just before I walked into the hallway, a loud bang came from backstage. Ok, if this is a prank, then they were prepared for me to leave the office.

I went back there and found Freddy slumped on the table, and the back of Chica. No giant blue bunny. Definitely prepared. I need to see if they want me back in the office. I turn around to go fetch the tablet from the office, and run straight into something hard. I back up a few inches and a red bowtie, two black buttons, and a lot of blue come into view. I look up into his piercing red eyes, and he just should there, not moving a gear. We stand there unmoving, each daring the other to make the first move. Then all of a sudden, Bonnie grabs my arm. I hardly register the arm till it already had a hold of me, and I could feel the pressure. My bones are strong to the point a tank rolling over my arm won't come close to breaking my arm, yet this bunny was getting really close just with the grip of his hand. He then threw me against one of the shelves, which loosened his grip enough for me to pull out of it. Bonnie, attempting to regain his grip on me lunged at me. I swiftly rolled out of the way and ran to the nearest door, the storage room. Once through, I closed the door and put my back on the door, and in mere seconds I could feel Bonnie bang on the door, and luckily the door held. Ok, maybe not a prank.

I quickly look around the room to find any other possible threats, and was met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes peeking from the curtains of pirate's cove. Everything was still for a few moment, then Bonnie hit the door again, distracting me for a moment. I look back at the cove and the eyes were gone. I looked around the room to find him, and couldn't find him anywhere. I look to my left and see an old arcade machine. I thought fast and pulled it in front of the door, just in time for Bonnie to hit the door again. It was holding, but it wouldn't last forever. I took a second to catch my breath. I am out of shape, I haven't exercised or even eaten well in a long time. If I live through this I need to get back in shape. I think my next move should be getting back to my office. My best chance is to make a break for it through the arcade.

That plan was short lived, for as soon as I turn to go to the door, a large animatronic fox lunged at me. I quickly ducked and the fox flew right over me... And straight into the parts and service door. A loud *Snap* is heard as the fox flew through the door and then *crash* as the fox slammed into Bonnie. I realized that now would be the best time to run. I quickly ran through the arcade door and to the hallway that lead to my safety. When I made the turn into the hallway, however, I heard a large metallic *crash*. I turn to see what made the noise, and saw fox standing up, appearing to have tripped on a Freddy head as it made its way out of the room. I tuned back down the hallway sprinting, and foxy was already up and running after me. I make it down the hallway in record time, but foxy was right on my heels. I swung into the room and hit the door button faster than I could pull the trigger of an assault rifle. I felt a sudden heat form a line diagonally from my right shoulder to my left hip as the door shut. I give myself a sec to breath, and look at the clock. 5:07. 27%. I feel my back to feel that the damn fox ripped through my shirt and now I have a single scratch down my back, and if I closed the door a second later, the fox would have done some serious damage. Well it's nice to know that this isn't a prank. I sit down and got settled for rest of the night. Checking the camera, I look in the backstage area. Foxy and Bonnie did a number on the place. Heads thrown everywhere, Freddy on the floor, Chica sprawled across the table, and the endoskeleton nowhere to be seen. I start searching for the animatronics, and quickly find foxy back in the storage room, peeking from behind the curtain. I need to keep an eye on him. I look through the cameras and eventually found Bonnie down the hall, a flickering light barely illuminating him. Then, the impossible happened. The camera became static for a second, a SECOND, and the rabbit was gone. I checked the lights real quick, left light. Nothing. I went to hit the left light button, but stopped. Out of the darkness, two pinpricks of red light was seen through the doorway. I quickly slam my hand on the door button, cutting the big ass bunny off. I search the cams to find the bunny in the dining room, with a demonic looking... Duck? Chicken? I have no idea. Chica didn't exactly look like ether. *Ding**dong**ding*dong*. *ding**dong**ding**dong*. I take a look at the clock. 6:00. 9%. Is it ok to leave now? I look at the cams, only for it to say "CONNECTION TERMINATED FROM EXTERNAL HOST". Ok. Guess I leave.

I walked to the dining room to find two animatronics frozen like statues, the backstage door open with heads and parts for the animatronics spread near the door along with Freddy's foot sticking out of the door, and a shocked looking man, the one who greeted me before my shift, standing near the mess. He looked up at me and almost instantly relaxed, smiling for once. "You must of had an interesting night. They don't tend to make much of a mess, unless they catch ya, and even then the confine it to backstage." I chuckle a little at that, at which he instantly turned sceptical, as though most who live through the night don't react like I did. To be fair, most would be horrified at what the guy said, especially after staying a night. "Ya, they can be an interesting bunch. They provide a unique challenge. Can't wait to see what happens the rest of the week." The guy cracks a smile, "In all the times I've seen a guy walk out that door quitting on the spot, or going out in a body bag, no one has come out like you have today. Only one person in Fazbear history has ever come out wanting to stay." "Who?" That sparked a bit of my curiosity.

"It's a bit of a legend around here, as it occurred in the 1990s. The guy's name was Mike, and he had walked out of there with a damn smile on his face. He lasted a week before he was fired. Guy was insane." "Why was he fired?" "He found a weak point. Hacked the animatronics. Could of turned them off for a night." "But he didn't?" "Nope. Their activity at night runs on numbers. Their number increases every night and resets after a week. Night five is like 8 on them, but fucker wanted a challenge, changed them all to 20." "They were like this all that time ago as well? How haven't they been destroyed?" "You can imagine laws involving sentient AI were… not clear." "Sentient?" "In the bare minimal of terms. They learn, adapt, and show some emotion, at least during the day. Best and most advanced pieces of junk out there." "How do you know this?" "When the animatronics were found, old employment files were found too. One box said employees, the other eight said night guards. Most of the night guards had either 2 papers, one the application and the other a missing person's report for them, or 3 papers, application, manager report, and quit slip. One file was a lot larger than the rest, Mike's. He had many papers, a manger's report for each day, his application, but the most interesting things were his pink slip and note by him. The note explains how he hacked them. However, he also explained how his process couldn't work again." "Why is that?" "They are AI, they realized what happened and fixed the hole in the programming. We did try again anyways, but they all forced themselves to 20." "Wow, would have been interesting to meet him." "Ya, bet you two would have an interesting discussion."He patted me on the back, and at that moment I remembered that foxy got a hit on me. I hissed at the touch, surprising the man. He quickly removed his hand, and took a look at his hand to discover blood. "Might explain the mess." "The mess was Bonnie and Foxy. It's amazing how much that damn fox wants you, also you will need a new door over there." I point towards the the doorway. He shuffles over to get a better view. "Foxy jumped you?" "Yep, through the door and into Bonnie. Hence the mess." "Anything else you want to tell me?" "There is a toppled arcade machine on the other side of the door." "You think fast, not many, if not none of the night guards got out of the room before 6 and lived to say they did. Marines? Maybe Oni? Not many have the skills you have shown." "You're getting closer. Look I gotta go, is there any chance I might be able to get my hands on those night guard files? You've peaked my interest." He seemed a tad confused, but replied anyways. "Ya, I can give you them later before your shift. I gotta open up. Enjoy your day." "You too." I start walking to the door, but..., "Oh, before I forget, my name is Josh." "John, see you Josh." "See ya" I left, with a plan. I need some answers about this place, and I can only think of one person who could give me some.

Back at the restaurant...

Josh walks into the security room, and instantly spots the application. He picks it up and starts making sure John filled everything out, bareilly reading a few words. He was about to put it down when three numbers on the paper caught his attention. '117' he went to read the entire line. 'Master Chief Petty Officer John 117'. "Ha, I was close"

**Authors note: Yep, fixed up a bit. Easier to read now. 3/10/17**


	3. Back Home

**Author's Note: I'm back! If you didn't already read it, chapters 1 and 2 have been edited. In some important ways and some just fixing errors ways. The real main important changes were really that Chief asked for the employment files Josh was talking about. I don't think that will be important for another chapter or two, but we'll see how carried away I get. If you're new and have gotten this far, great! Go ahead and follow and favorite as this story is being regularly updated! If you're a previous follower, good job staying true to me. There will be regular updates now, no bullshit three fucking years. If you need proof, another of my previous stories, uncharted, is currently being rewritten and has been my test on how I can actually do this. Long author's note, I know, but I hope it is worth it. If you are a previous follower, leave a review saying so to show your still reading. If not, review your thoughts. Next chapter due for 3/31/17 **_(I'm also writing for two other stories so a chapter a week for different stories.)_** Edit: date has been changed to an unknown, as a large amount of mental energy was used for testing last week and didn't get this chapter out then. Due dates have almost always have given me problems. But hope for it soon.**

Chief POV:

God, my shoulder was killing me. It had been awhile sense I've been hit like this. I'm getting soft. I'll probably go to a gym later, but my goal now is to get home, bandage my shoulder, and get some sleep. I get a few stares on my way home, I would stare to if a man with a cut through their shirt and an obvious blood on the wound and shirt. Dried blood, but blood nonetheless.

I get to my home, or rather, the front door of the apartment building I live in. I walk in, heading straight to the elevator. "Oh god, what happened to your shoulder?!" The one thing I forgot, the owner is almost always at the front desk. If I went to the stairs on the other side of the room, she wouldn't have noticed. "Don't ignore me!" "It's fine, Victoria. Just a new job." I call for the elevator without even turning towards Victoria. "John, that is not 'fine', you need medical attention!" She came up to me and pulled on my good arm, without any luck. "I'm fine, really. I have a med-kit up in my room. I'm bandaging it up there." She then proceeds to then hit the wound, causing me to visibly, and audibly, wince. "What was that for?!" I finally look at her, well down at her. She's smaller, barely reaching my chest in height. She has long black hair and bright green eyes. She wore a black v-neck, purposely trying to show off her DD size cleavage, and tight skinny jeans. To most guys, she was a beautiful woman. She, however, never quite shown in interest in any.

"Proving my point. You need medical attention, the amount of blood on your shirt is a real tell." "It wasn't that deep of a cut." The elevator is sure taking its sweet time. "Stop acting tough, you're going to need more than some gauze for that." "I have what I need for stitches. I am trained in self medical care." "On the field maybe, but that has to be infected." "I have disinfectant." I know what Victoria is going to do. She is just the kind of person to help people in what she believes they need. "It's in a difficult to reach place, how will you even reach it to stitch?" "If you want to help fix it up, be my guest. But I have no reason to go to a hospital. I really don't need doctors asking for previous medical history." She almost tried to fight it more, but she realized what I said was true. Hospitals can get a little weird when it comes to Spartans as they can never be sure what to do. From dosage of medicines to how to go around the metal plates on the bones. It only gets worse if they're Spartan IIs as there is so little knowledge anywhere for them. "Fine, but you are letting me deal with everything. No exceptions." "Fine by me."

Victoria was a good friend, she truly was. She had been the one to suggest that I get a job. Sense I didn't do much, often I would come down here and just talk with her. Obviously I wasn't the first to start that through. When I first started living here, Victoria was very keen on learning about me. Not sure why, whether it was something she did with everyone or just me I couldn't tell you. Once I actually talked back to her, I realized it was a good feeling just to talk. And Victoria liked to as well, as she even got a chair to sit right next to the front desk once she realized I had nothing better to do. She would have me help out around the apartment complex when it was required and just sit back and talk about anything when it wasn't. I was fine with it as I had literally nothing to do. She was also trying to get me to do different things all the time, to make my life, well, different. Somethings were nice, like when she forced me to try a pizza. I can't believe I had never had one. Other things were not so good, like when she pulled me into a yoga class. A man of my size doing yoga? That was a mess. Made it even worse was how much I stood out. The tallest, largest, and only guy there, stood out just a bit.

The elevator finally arrived, a few minutes of silence later. The door opens to be completely empty. "What's wrong with the elevator ? That took way too long." I asked as we went in. "Beats me, haven't seen it take that long before." I click the number four and the door closes a few seconds later. We sit in silence, which I find odd. Victoria normally would be asking about the job and what caused the shoulder. The elevator takes its normal amount of time, and stops on my level. The door, however, doesn't open. "Your refusal to get a professional shows." "I am all this place needs thank you very much. Help me open the door." "I can open it myself you know." "Best not put pressure on the wound. Wouldn't want blood in the elevator." I roll my eyes at that, and, using my good arm, pull on the door with Victoria. We pull it open with ease. The elevator was on my floor, not an inch off. We get off the elevator.

"I will fix that later, let's get your wound patched up." "If you need to fix it, I can do this myself." "Nope. You're getting the Victoria treatment whether you like or not." We walk down the hall towards my apartment. "Victoria treatment? That sounds sketchy, like how you would try to sell a miracle medicine. 'Come receive the Victoria treatment, cures all illness and may reduce weight.'" Victoria starts laughing at that as I pull out my key to open my front door. "You're right, I should start a business with that slogan. Might lose the weight reduction part, makes it to long." I open the door into my apartment and walk through. "What would you sell? Last I checked, you don't exactly have a cure all medicine." Victoria follows me through.

My apartment isn't anything special, very bland as Victoria constantly says it is. A large, long main area, master just to the right of where you come in. A small couch and tv sit perpendicular to where you come in, both of which Victoria forced me to do. A video game console sits just below the tv, a reminder of Victoria's failed attempt to get me into video games. Not that I was bad at them, just were too easy. I got bored very quick and Victoria didn't like being beaten by a 'noob' as she put it. A fairly large kitchen with a large island sat on the opposite wall to the door, and a bathroom sat on the right wall by the kitchen. That was it, no painting, no tables, not even a coffee maker. It is completely blank.

"I don't know, maybe I'll…. Use Spartan pee!" "Wait, now you're asking me for my pee? This proposal seems extremely sketchy." "Just get the medkit, this took a wrong turn." I chuckle at her poor attempt to change the topic. "Ok, but I'm not using your so called cure all." I could feel the stare she was giving me as i walked into the master.

The master was just like the rest of the apartment, only a king sized bed (I'm forced to sleep diagonally due to my height), a closet, and basic dresser. Another door to the master bath is to the left, so I walk right in. From under the sink I grab the medkit. Pretty heavy duty one to. Had everything you would need in an emergency situation, and then some. Even had surgical tools. I'm pretty sure this is the type of thing people with nuclear bunkers use.

I get back in the main area to find Victoria face first in a sandwich. "You're about to attempt to stitch my shoulder, so you decided to make a sandwich? Peanut butter in a flesh wound doesn't seem healthy." "Shut up, you get the good peanut butter. I can't help…" Her eyes see the medkit. "Jesus Christ, is that your medkit? That thing looks like you plan to operate." "Well it does have surgical tools, as well as solutions to properly clean them." "Where do you find one like that?" "Costco." "Damn, I really need a membership there. Would be so useful to buy in bulk." (_Shameless Costco ad, and we don't even get any money for it.) _

I place the kit on the island and started pulling out what we need. Victoria washed her hands in the sink. "So did you enjoy the security job? You know besides when you cut your shoulder." "Yes, to the manager's surprise, I enjoyed it. Boring till about midnight, but the rest of the night is a rush." She walked back towards the island as I finished pulling out everything from the disinfectant to the disintegrating thread. "Rush, at a closed children's pizzeria? Does it become a nightclub at night? Maybe a stripclub?" She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively when she said stripclub. "I'm glad it isn't. That would have been boring. This is a different level of insanity." I take my shirt off before asking, "Hey, have you done this before?" I throw the shirt into the trash can before looking at Victoria for an answer. She was frozen, completely awestruck. Mouth agape and eyes open as wide as possible. Her eyes are darting all over my chest and abdomen, and I know exactly why.

"Victoria, earth to Victoria, are you hearing me?" She shook her head, snapping back into reality before returning her gaze to my face. Face a bit red from embarrassment, she responds, "Sorry, just… didn't expect the…" She spoke sounding flustered, so I threw her a bone to help her calm down. "Scars? Yes, I was a spartan. I have lots of scars." "But, there are so many large ones. How are you alive?" I look down at the scars in question. It is a good question. Burns from plasma, cuts from blades, dots where bullets penetrated the skin, and even a nice burned cut from an energy sword right along my chest. It's incredibly lucky that I am alive.

"Through skill and a whole lotta luck. Now, let me ask again, have you ever done this?" She's a little surprised at the question, but suddenly becomes both embarrassed and nervous, pushing both her pointer fingers together as she answers,"No…" I should have known this would happen. Victoria has a tendency to saying she will do something that she has no idea how to do. "Ever stitch a stuffed animal? It's the same deal, just instead of white stuffing it's red." She lit up almost instantly. "Yes! it's been awhile, but it should be fine." "Well then, knock yourself out. Not literally, of course. Hate to explain to the cops why a passed out girl in my apartment while my shirt is off. Paints a bad image." "Why would the cops come here in the first place? What did you do? Take kids to the 'special' show room at the pizzeria?" I couldn't help but laugh at that. "You wish. You would be the one with the camera." She walks around the table to get to my back. "Hey, it was only one time…" I pass her the disinfectant cream. "Yes and that 'one time' got you arrested." "That's not fair and you know it. You get paid three grand to hold a camera, you hold the camera." She starts rubbing the disinfectant into the wound, chilling the area around it. This cream is so much better than the shit medics would give you. That stuff burned worse than plasma. "Besides, I was cleared of most of the charges. How was I supposed to know she was fifteen?" "You wouldn't have to worry about it if you said no…" "You are getting too far off topic, what happened at your job?" "To be fair, you're really the one who went off topic." "Answer the question. Also hand me the thread." I pass the thread and needle to her. "Well, it wasn't what I was expecting."

I then told what happened from the lackluster greeting to the phone message before she stopped me. "What? The animatronics move by themselves? That sounds like a terrible prank." She Finished up the stitches before sitting on another chair. "I thought that too, but they don't play around." "Your kidding, right?" "No, the old foxy animatronic was what got my shoulder. Those things seriously don't play around." "But, how? Are they just, corrupt programming? I mean, they're old. That might have something to do with it." "According to the manager, they basically have been like this forever. Some old files have information on other night guards who ether died or quit on the first day close to a century ago." Her hands were massaging her temples, and eyes glued to her knees. She was thinking, probably trying to think about what would cause this.

"Don't push your mind too hard, you're going to need it to fix the elevator." "Are you going back?" The question caught me off guard. I already told Josh I would. But, based on Victoria's tone, she probably wants me to say no. "I'm not sure yet. I told the manager I would, but I don't want to run to a decision quite yet." "Well, if you are, then bring that medkit down to the lobby. You're not going to try to hide your injuries from me." I get what she's doing. "What makes you say that's my only medkit?" She looks up to me in the most serious face I think I've ever seen her use. "John, do you even realize that you can die? That you are not invincible?" She looked straight into my eyes, as though she was pulling the answer through them. Sure, I realized that I could die. I knew that every time I went out on the field, every time I fought. But, I never truly thought about it. Why think about what might happen, when you could think about was happening? I thought how was I going to win, how we were going to win. I considered the lives of others, putting them before myself in every situation. But this is different. The only one at risk here is me. No civilians, no soldiers, and no friends are at risk this time, just me. When was the last time I put myself at risk for no reason? For just me? I honestly don't know. How should I answer the question?

"No." A simple answer, but the only answer I could think of. "Of course you don't. 'Spartans never die, they are just missing in action.' They must drill that line into your skull." She quickly reverted back to her old self. "Well, I should let you get some sleep, must have been a rough night, and you probably got another one tonight. I also need to fix that damn elevator." She was definitely quick to leave. "Maybe hire a professional this time?" "In your dreams." She was already at the door. "Please just don't get yourself killed, it was hard enough to get a tenet for this place the first time." "Hey, why would you doubt me?" "I'm not doubting you, I just really don't want to go through that again. Get some sleep, I'll see you later." "See you too." And with that she was out the door.

**Author's Note: I had planned on continuing, but this is already late. As I said, I'm still working on a schedule that works for me. It won't take three years this time, I promise. If you don't like the conversations, please tell me what I can do to make them better. I have also been looking for a good beta, because I know I'm not exactly the best writer and could use the help. If you've read this far, you probably enjoyed the story, so you should go ahead and follow and favorite. Review your thoughts and until next time, see ya!**


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